


This is Life, It's a Game

by sky_reid



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Developing Relationship, Drinking, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Holidays, M/M, Pining, Romantic Comedy, Sexual Content, Travel, Unresolved Sexual Tension, You get the idea, but for the record lance/gwen is a legit pairing in this fic that gets words and time devoted to it, fuck man idk i'm making it up as i go, house swapping, i might gradually add more tags, it's an au loosely based on the movie the holiday (2006), okay here's the deal, reconsidering your life on drunken nights, ridic situations, that type of thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-31
Updated: 2013-12-30
Packaged: 2018-01-06 20:16:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1111078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sky_reid/pseuds/sky_reid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Arthur is a workoholic who's just been dumped by his boyfriend of three years, Gwen is his friend from college and business partner, Lancelot lives thousands of miles away, Merlin is Lancelot's somewhat quirky best friend and for some reason it seems like a good idea for Arthur and Lancelot to swap their lives for a couple of weeks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This is Life, It's a Game

**Author's Note:**

> title from _valhala_ by 30stm
> 
> loosely based on the movie _the holiday_ and requested by one of my lovely readers, kim (i took some liberty with both the prompt and the movie, i hope you don't mind) :)
> 
> i knew this fic would get out of hand with the words so i decided to write it in chapters and i solemnly swear it will be complete by valentine's day. idk why arthur is an architect again, idk don't ask me, also i'm bullshitting my way through both his profession and the places where this fic is happening i'm sorry if something is completely off base
> 
> happy holidays, friends, happy holidays

 

_intro #1_

 

“I can't just _move a wall_ , Gwen,” Arthur says for what has to be the eleventh time.

 

“Well, you're gonna have to think of _something_ ,” Gwen replies, dog-earing a page in the giant hard cover of _Advanced Museography_ she took from the library, “because that wall is obstructing the air flow into this chamber and I can't very well change the laws of physics.”

 

Arthur thumps his forehead against the desk. “Remind me why we can't just put an AC somewhere.”

 

Gwen sighs. “Because this is a _museum_ housing centuries old books that need to be preserved in a special way which, really, you of all people should appreciate since you can't seem to keep a brand new sheet of paper whole for more than a few days,” she says, patiently pushing Arthur off the desk and straightening out the plan spread out on top of it. “Didn't some of the initial plans come without that wall?”

 

“Yeah, and we also rejected them for various reasons, not the least memorable of which was that the whole thing would've collapsed even before the roof was on it.” It's not even midday and he's already fighting the urge to just scrap the entire project and start over. Instead he takes a measured step back and then drops backwards into his chair.

 

“I swear that this was much easier in theory back in uni.”

 

“We took a one-semester elective, yeah, it was easier,” Arthur snaps.

 

Gwen puts the book down on their cluttered desk and leans against it. “Well, don't yell at _me_ ,” she says. “You're the one who insisted we take this job.”

 

Arthur scrubs a hand over his face. They've been working on a new wing of the Museum of Publishing for more than two months and everything was going just fine while they were each sticking to their respective fields and working separately – Arthur went through a few different plans until he settled on the one he felt was the best (a perfect blend of traditional architecture that characterized the rest of the museum and modern style that Arthur preferred) and Gwen, well, she picked upholstery patterns or wall colours or whatever it was that Gwen did before she had Arthur's plans. And then they started exchanging ideas. And that's when everything went to hell. Suddenly, rooms were too big or too small, hallways too narrow, windows in the wrong places. It felt like Arthur had to change _everything_ and even then Gwen kept pointing out things that didn't work, like that blasted wall they've been arguing about for the last three days. Arthur knows she only wants everything to be perfect but he almost feels like he's back in uni and failing some sort of a test.

 

Okay, in retrospect, some of their issues could have been avoided if Arthur had bothered to read some of the books Gwen's been swallowing lately, but hey, Arthur's never claimed to be good at planning ahead. And okay, maybe he's been a tiny little bit distracted lately. _Maybe_.

 

Really, he likes to think he's handling the whole thing quite well, but he's not sure everyone else would agree. Gwaine, for one, thinks he needs a vacation. But that's not really Arthur's thing. When he's down, he doesn't lie on a couch at home and watch crap reality TV, that's Morgana's thing; and he doesn't pack a bag and go hitchhiking through Europe like Gwaine. No, what he does is burry himself (and Gwen) in work; he takes on an enormous project, the likes of which he's never tried before, on a tight schedule and a budget on the smaller side too and then screws up the position of a _fucking wall_.

 

No, he's fine, he's alright. It's not like Mordred accused him of being more dedicated to his job than their relationship, it's not like he threw his affair in Arthur's face and walked away, it's not like Arthur's been avoiding dealing with his feelings over the break up by working extra hard. Except it's exactly like that and Arthur has no idea what to do now. All he really wants is to get away from everything for a while, just enough to remember who he is without Mordred and figure out what he wants to do with his life now. The problem is, his work is proving not to be the best place to run to.

 

“Hey,” Gwen prompts, nudging his foot with hers, “let's take an early lunch, yeah? Clear our heads a little.”

 

Unable to come up with a better suggestion, Arthur shrugs in compliance.

 

~*~

 

Having Gwaine for a close friend certainly has positive sides. Arthur is just having trouble remembering them with Gwaine and Gwen ganging up on him and throwing out increasingly ridiculous ideas of ways for Arthur to get back on his feet. Mostly, he plays along, takes it as a joke but when Gwaine suggests enlisting into the army with an expression that Arthur isn't exactly positive isn't serious and Gwen comes up with knitting looking a bit like she's desperate enough to actually mean it, he has to draw the line. Well, sort of.

 

“Is it too early to order alcohol?” he asks.

 

“Only a few hours too early. But I can get you something if you want,” Gwaine replies nonchalantly.

 

Gwen pokes his shoulder. “Don't encourage him or I might call your boss,” she threatens.

 

“Oh come on, brunch is not really our busiest hour. Besides, everyone knows I'm better at the bartending part of the job than being a waiter.”

 

“I don't know, the uniform rather suits you,” Arthur cuts in pinching on the frankly ridiculous red shirt Gwaine is wearing (in all honesty Gwaine, the bastard that he is, is actually pulling the fucking thing off); he hopes to take the focus of the conversation away from himself.

 

Gwaine flips his hair over his shoulder dramatically. “Doesn't it just?” he says sweetly.

 

Gwen shoves at his shoulder lightly. “Don't let him distract you!” Gwaine bats his eyelashes innocently at her. “Yes, yes, you're like a stunning model just off the runway,” she laughs, “but we were talking about Arthur.”

 

Arthur struggles over whether he wants to remind them that he's there or try to sneak out while they're too busy play-flirting (he'd manage too, if only they were just a bit drunker and he didn't have to put on a coat and a scarf and gloves – god, he hates winter).

 

“Well, I still vote travelling.”

 

“Of course you do,” Arthur replies, rolling his eyes.

 

Gwaine shrugs, not bothering to be defensive. “I don't know why you're so adamantly opposed to it, it literally _is_ getting away from everything.”

 

Arthur takes a moment before he replies. The truth is that he doesn't really know what to say himself. It could be that he doesn't want to make it seem like he's running away from something because he doesn't think there's anything _he_ should run from, or it could be that the impersonal hotel room would likely only remind him why he's travelling alone. In the end, he just says, “I don't like hotels.” He doesn't think he's fooling either of them, but he also knows they won't point it out. He knew there was something positive about being friends with them.

 

Gwaine hums, running his fingers through his beard like he sometimes does when he's lost in thought. “Oh, well, I have this one friend—“ Arthur raises his eyebrows. “Friend of a _friend_ ,” Gwaine corrects with a laugh, “who'd be happy to do a house swap. At least he was happy to do it this summer.”

 

“I only have three questions,” Arthur says, not really taking the whole thing seriously, “one: would I have to meet the _friend_ that you shagged?; two: what are the odds that i'd touch a surface you've defiled?; and three: what the hell is a house swap?”

 

Gwaine lets out a breathy laugh as he pushes the hair out of his eyes. “Probably, high and it's quite simple really – for a set time, the two of you would essentially switch. You'd live in his house, drive his car, take care of his dog and what have you, while he lives in your house, drives your car and takes care of your one measly cactus.”

 

“Oh, I've heard about that!” Gwen says enthusiastically. “That's actually a great idea!”

 

“Why would I want to do that?”

 

“Because,” Gwen explains in the tone of someone talking to a particularly slow child, “you get to see a new place, meet new people and, most importantly, you get to experience a completely different life and see how that works out for you. You know, I don't say this often about Gwaine's ideas, but this one is really good.”

 

“Yeah, people have been really into it apparently. A good way to vacation for those who don't like doing the typical tourist kind of travelling.”

 

Arthur considers that. Living somebody else's life for a while sounds like quite a treat to him. At the same time, he doesn't want to kill some random dude's dog.

 

“That friend of yours, he really has a dog?”

 

“ _That's_ the thing you're worried about?” Gwen asks incredulously.

 

Arthur shrugs a shoulder; he likes dogs and there's a reason he has only one cactus – he really has a talent for killing anything living that needs to be cared for.

 

“A golden retriever,” Gwaine replies. “But don't worry, I'm sure Merlin will take care of it for you. He's quite fond of it.”

 

“Merlin wouldn't be the guy you...” Gwaine gives him a quick grin. “Of course he is.”

 

“You do realize you see someone Gwaine's been with every time you look in the mirror?” Gwen teases him.

 

“That hardly counts,” Arthur says, knowing it won't matter one bit.

 

“Gwaine!” comes a woman's voice from behind them.

 

“Ah shit,” Gwaine says under his breath, downing his espresso as he stands up. “Should I call my friend and see if he's still up for a swap?”

 

Arthur bites at his bottom lip. “I'll think about it,” he promises.


End file.
